Excellent opinion piece on Pledge controversy, from New Republic

[shemp]

Under God And Over (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/07/opinion/main610681.shtml)

It is never long before one nation under God gives way to one God under a nation.

[gnome]

My favorite bit:

Breyer's solution was another attempt to salvage religious expression by emptying it of religious content. But why should a neutralized God be preferred to a neutral government? The preference is attractive only if religion is regarded primarily from the standpoint of politics.

[Regnad Kcin]

One of my favorite bits:[The founders] were, many of them, Deists -- which is to say, the United States was created in the very short period in history when it was theologically respectable to believe in a God that never intervenes in the world that He (the pronoun is ridiculous) created. In the matter of our religious origins, then, we were freakishly fortunate. No theology more convenient for a secular democracy ever existed. But there are no Deists in America anymore. This is why it was exceedingly odd to hear the controversial words in the Pledge described at the Court with Eugene Rostow's phrase "ceremonial deism." Ceremonial theism, perhaps; but that is a more highly charged activity. If there were still Deists in America, we would enjoy more cultural peace.

[The idea]

Originally posted by Regnad Kcin
But there are no Deists in America anymore.
Maybe there should be a SETI-style project to find Deists in America.

United Deist Community (http://www.deism.org/)

[Brown]

Originally posted by Regnad Kcin
One of my favorite bits....If there were still Deists in America....This made me think of Bidlack.